


Erase the Future (Collab with BookwormCM18)

by LaGranPepita



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action, Adrenaline Fueled Original Character, Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, And that's a fact, Badass Original Character, Collaboration, Crushes, F/M, Fluff, Harry Potter was never born, Humor, I suck at tagging, Major Original Character(s), Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, POV Third Person, Pureblood Culture (Harry Potter), She isn't the main main focus, Stress Out Original Character, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, but only one, doubtful, dunno if she's on AO3, ehhh, frienship, go check her out, it should be, kind of, more like, not really - Freeform, oh no, or - Freeform, sorta - Freeform, that's better, the world's been taken over by voldlemort, this a collab btw, uhhh, why is that not a tag, with ff.net's BookwormCM18, wth, yeah - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-19 02:01:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29618889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaGranPepita/pseuds/LaGranPepita
Summary: In a world without Harry Potter, Neville Longbottom was defeated by the current ruler of the world, Lord Voldemort. As the Dark Lord gains control, someone decides to take action. Traveling back in time, she tries to create a world where Harry Potter exists, but that might be hard. How to make two people who cannot be any more different even like each other, she doesn't know.Or:Lily Evans and James Potter never got together, which means our very own Boy Who Lived did not, in fact, live since he wasn't even born. Neville Longbottom tried to fight Voldemort but failed and was murdered. So, someone steals a Time-Turner and goes back in time to get Lily and James together.[This is a collab]
Relationships: James Potter & Peter Pettigrew, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black & James Potter, Sirius Black & Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black & Remus Lupin, Sirius Black & Remus Lupin & Peter Pettigrew & James Potter, Sirius Black & Remus Lupin & Peter Pettigrew & James Potter & Lily Evans Potter
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An introduction~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER!
> 
> ~First Chapter written by Legacy_of_Hecate

The buildings passed by in a blur. A mass of burned wood platforms crowded around rocky cobblestone pathways, twisting around and through the dark alleyways, long since abandoned.

Flicking street lamps lined the broken paths, crumbling under the rough footsteps of those passing over them.

A woman, short and thin with black hair and sharp gray eyes, bounded across the old pathways, clutching an unknown object to her chest. Her dark blue robes fluttered gracefully as she bounced across the trail, the white lining shimmering in the gentle light of the moon. Her footsteps, though quick, were quiet and light, almost afraid to touch the fragile stones of the track.

The men behind her, however, seemed to care none for the flimsy rocks. They trailed along after her, long wooden sticks outstretched in their hands. They paid no mind to the burdened rocks beneath them, their footsteps pounding. Black fabric danced in the wind and white masks radiated fear.

"Get back here!" A man's rough voice sounded through the cool night air, shattering the near silence.

The woman paid no attention to the men. She tore through the weeds growing up from in between the stones beneath her, bare feet slapping the cool grass as she turned right into a field.

Mistake.

The men were persistent, and they surrounded her in seconds. The woman clutched the object in her hands desperately, but her face was a mask.

A man walked forward casually, his face barely visible beneath the mask, but the woman could make out two straight lines down his face all the way down to his neck. Scars, she presumed, the Cruento War was the bloodiest war of the Wizarding ( and muggle, but they are forbidden of talking them) World, for both sides.

The woman resists the urge to flinch back; she can't fully see his face, but she knew people who fought in the Cruento War, and their wounds are deep. Deeper than the scars that line their skin.

She was only a little girl when the Cruento War was fought, five or six, so she doesn't remember much. But there was one thing she remembered. Something she could never forget. Something no one could forget.

_The death._

The sheer force of the Dark Lord's army hit muggles and muggle-borns alike, sparing none. The woman was lucky to be a Pureblood, or else she would be dead. Just like her friends.

The man, presumably the leader of this particular group of thugs-sorry Death Eaters-, turns his mouth up into a small, smug smirk. He holds on his hand as if he was in a business meeting.

"Rhea Esmeray," the man addresses slowly, "I believe you have something that belongs to us. If you hand back the time turner, we will go peacefully, no harm will be done to you or anyone close to you."

The man's tone was polite and sympathizing, but Rhea isn't stupid. She knows that tone, the tone used by the Dark Lord during the panicked aftermath of the Cruento War to 'reassure' citizens. It didn't fool her then, and it won't fool her now.

But Rhea is smart. She knows if she plays her cards right, she can escape with the Time-Turner. She can change the past, and make a better future if she succeeds. If they get together.

Rhea decides to play stupid, her mother always said it wasn't hard. She blinked innocently at the man, still cradling the time turner in her arms. "Time turner? What... this thing? But it's a necklace.."

Rhea sees a vein protruding from the man's face and she resists the urge to smirk.

"Miss Esmeray," the man starts, barely contained rage evident faintly in his voice, "perhaps we got off on the wrong foot."

"Chasing me down the streets of a scary, rundown town definitely counts as getting off on the wrong foot," Rhea inputs, basking in the hilarity as the man's nostrils flared with anger. _Good_ , she thinks, _a little more_.

The man clears his throat. "Yes, I suppose so. In any case, the necklace in your hand is not, in fact, a simple necklace. It is very dangerous in the hands of anyone except His Majesty. Please, hand it back here."

Rhea clicks her tongue, pretending to think about it. "What's in it for me?"

"Not dying, you impertinent, dreadful son of a-" the man physically has to shake his hand to calm himself, though it didn't seem to work. "Forgive me, Miss Esmeray. That was rude of me."

"Yes, yes it was. You should be ashamed of yourself," Rhea says, unashamed with using simple emotional manipulation tactics. The man's self-control over his anger, or lack thereof, in this case, is something she will take full advantage of, unabashedly.

The man makes a noise in between a grunt and a scream. He smooths his robe down and opens his mouth to speak. " _Anyway_ ," he replied, teeth gritted, "I merely meant that you would not go to jail, and would be free of all, or most, charges that you have made against the laws."

"Which are? I don't believe I've done anything wrong."

"You have stolen a very valuable object-"

"It's a necklace."

"-from the Dark Lord-"

"I bet he doesn't mind."

"-which you shouldn't be in possession of.." The man finishes, his hold on his anger almost nonexistent.

Almost.

Rhea smiles him her most annoying smile, ignoring the thought of her dad saying all her smiles are annoying. "Oh? Why put it out where everyone can see it then?" She tsked, sounding disappointed. "That wasn't very smart of you, but not surprising. Death Eaters aren't the brightest tools in the shed."

The man exploded.

Perfect.

The man grabbed his wand from his pocket and gestured for the Death Eaters behind him to do the same.

Three seconds.

Three seconds is how long it takes for them to get out their wands.

It took them three seconds to realize Rhea was gone.

It took Rhea three seconds to Apparate onto a nearby roof. Apparating was outlawed a while ago, reserved for only the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters, but Rhea was a criminal anyway. But if her plan worked, she would be so much more than a petty criminal.

Rhea crouched down, hand placed carefully on the ground. That was risky, and she knew that, but she had to get away. They'd find where she is eventually, but she'd be long gone by then.

She took the time turner and gently placed it around her neck, grabbing the protruding screw on the side of the cool metal object, twisting it multiple times.

She waited with bated breath as the world changed around her, throwing her into the past.

* * *

Rhea had no idea what it would feel like to go into the past. Not many people do, obviously. But she didn't expect it to be...Peaceful, maybe? She didn't know how to describe it; she's never been good with words.

The broken and battered buildings of what used to be Hogsmeade faded into something brighter. The walls of the stores were no longer burned and bruised, but instead painted and showed signs of life. The windows weren't boarded up and shattered, the windows had signs and mannequins peering through the window, and products were displayed on counters.

The biggest change, though, was the people. Rhea had never seen so many people together at once (large gatherings were banned, too, probably to shut down any thoughts of rebellions). They all seemed so...so...

 _Happy_.

Everywhere people were smiling, eating and drinking, shopping, or spending time with their families. Rhea was always interested in the past-before the Cruento War. Her mother and father had always discouraged that behavior, always saying it was bound to get them killed. Them, not her.

Rhea almost forgot why she was here, she was so mesmerized by the vast beauty and delightful crowds, but she shook her head and sprang up from the roof.

She needed to find Hogwarts. She had no idea where that was, it had been one of the first things torn down after the war.

Rhea needed information, and these unusually happy people were going to give it to her.

She carefully climbed down the roof, using the fire escape to be unnoticed, and adjusted her outfit. She had prepared for this trip, but she felt unprepared now that she's actually in the past.

She approached a woman with a tall hat and blonde hair. She looked nice enough, so Rhea decided she should start with her.

Rhea taps the woman's shoulder, making her jump. "Oh my goodness!" The woman screeched, making Rhea cringe. Luckily, no one paid them any attention.

"Sorry, miss," Rhea apologized, remembering her manners. Her grandmother, the only good family she had, drilled manners into her head since she was able to talk. She also, coincidentally, was the one who taught Rhea how to be manipulative. Not important, though.

"Oh," the woman says, taking notice of Rhea and smiled at her kindly. "It's fine, dear. Do you need anything?"

Rhea smiled back at her, albeit a little forced. "I was wondering if you could show me where Hogwarts is."

The woman furrows her eyebrows. "You don't know where it is?" Rhea shakes her head. "Why would you want to go there?"

Rhea, thank Merlin for her quick thinking, responded. "Sorry, I'm new here. I came in from America to learn more about the Wizarding World in other places besides America."

"Oh, well I apologize for questioning you." Rhea barely contained an eye roll. Too trusting. The woman proceeds to give Rhea directions. Rhea thanks the woman and heads off to Hogwarts.

Rhea didn't get very far.

She made it halfway before a smiling man with twinkling eyes and a long white beard. His eyes crinkled at the edges and his kind face made her stop. Rhea swore she's seen this man before.

_Blue eyes._

_White beard._

_Kind face._

_Dumbledore._

Albus Dumbledore smiled at her as if sensing her thoughts. "When I was told a young woman appeared on top of my brother's store, I didn't believe it. I suppose I was wrong."

Rhea stared at him. Courage flooded through her, surprising her. She stormed up to Dumbledore, getting close to his face and she grabbed the front of his robe. If he was shocked, he didn't show it.

"You listen here, old man," Rhea growled. "I need to get two Gryffindor fourth years together in a year or the world is doomed. You're going to take me to Hogwarts and let me become a student."

And, surprising Rhea even more than her blunt comment and courage, the man complied.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stuff happens~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by BookwormCM18. I don't own Harry Potter either.

Waiting.

Three days ago, Rhea's greatest fear would have been the Dark Lord, as was expected of all those under his rule. Now, it is waiting.

Patience had never been her strong suit, but she had never experienced the true agony of just sitting there; it was unexplainable. Growing up in a pureblood family, Rhea had never truly been given a choice; coming here was her first.

Dumbledore had agreed to her demands, but she should have expected what would be next. With nothing but tales to hear about the pathetic man who thought he was the greatest wizard, all Rhea knew was that he had fallen because "His stupid 'Boy Who Lived' was never allowed to fight". She had never known that he was, indeed, overprotective. Of everyone.

So she can't join Hogwarts until the following "precautions" were taken.

Endure the pain of a backward age potion (which takes precisely two months to make).

Actually study for school.

Get "situated" in a home.

Rhea felt that the last one wasn't necessary; she was an adult. Technically. But Dumbledore insisted, and she couldn't say no.

This time had been useful for some pondering. Rhea had been preparing for weeks for this trip, yet she felt so cold and timid whenever she thought about the fact that she had actually done it.

You see, thinking and preparing about doing something that defies everything you've been taught is tremendously different from actually accomplishing it.

Perhaps that is why she is sitting in a purple mini-couch in Dumbledore's office with a book lying loosely in her hands. She wasn't reading it and didn't even know the title of the book. Is that what she was reduced to? Not even paying attention to what she is doing?

Rhea groans once more and wishes this would be over soon.

* * *

James _hates_ Severus Snape.

The nasal git thinks he deserves someone like Lily Evans. Truth be told, no one deserves the demon. But he has to admit, Evans has her looks.

However, Snivellous took it to a whole other level with the gift he got her. A book? Was he out of his mind?

Creeeeeeeeaaaak! Creeeeeeeeaaaak!

"Will you stop that, Wormtail?"

The so-called Wormtail is crouched with his knees up to his chest, rocking back and forth on the wooden floorboards, which lifted up ever so slightly when the pudgy boy tilted.

He is definitely afraid, scarred with their last prank; something to do with muggle roller skates and a lot of soap.

It's complicated.

"James, leave him." The familiar voice of Remus Lupin said.

Remus never addressed the first boy by name, for they had made a pact to only use their nicknames. Unless, of course, Moony was reprimanding one of the boys. Which happened at least thrice a day.

James rolls his eyes at Moony's nagging, in a teasing way. He knew how frightening the "Soap Incident", as they called it, was for Peter. There were a lot of risks taken.

It's still complicated.

James returns to his musing. He is creating a diabolical plan to get back at Snape. For what, he isn't sure. But he must've done something evil in the past few days. That, he is sure of. The greasy little git is always up to something.

No, that is wrong.

Not the part about Snivellous, of course. The part about the plan. He is _trying_ to create a diabolical plan.

James turns to his best friend and partner in pranks, Padfoot. He calls his name, but the addressed boy is in a world of his own.

There is nothing unusual about that, for Sirius is always thinking. He might seem like a boy who only looked handsome, and had no brains. That was mostly true. Unlike Moony, who spends his free time trying to figure out something muggles called 'math'(which was absurd), Padfoot simply works on the next prank.

But there are these moments when Padfoot becomes the bleak Sirius that James first met. All he knows was that Sirius had trouble at home and that he can't help but think about it sometimes.

No one can measure James's caring for the boy who was practically his brother, but he can't do anything to help. Though Wormtail had suggested something called _Psychology_.

But James has better tactics.

Waving his hand in front of Padfoot's face, he speaks loudly and clearly, as if Sirius has hearing troubles,

"Come on Padfoot! Let's go do something!"

When Sirius breaks free from his trance, James knew he had succeeded. Grabbing the invisibility cloak, the two boys (literally) race to the Black Lake, ready to have some quality time with the famous Giant Squid.

As they toss apples into the sea creature's mouth, Padfoot catches sight of a certain red-headed girl. The boys creep up to Lily Evans who, it was now apparent, is reading a book. _The_ book.

Draped with the cloak, James leans over with poise and snatches the book out of the unsuspecting girl's lap. Evans immediately leaps up, and with surprisingly accurate aim, rips off the invisibility cloak.

Sirius is quick to snatch it back, but that didn't stop an indignant, "Hey!" from coming out of James's mouth. He holds the book up high, daring Lily to take it from him.

* * *

"Give it back, Potter!"

Lily Evans is _FURIOUS_. Not only had her favorite book been taken from her, but it had been taken by the two biggest idiots in the whole school.

James Potter and Sirius Black.

To say she hates the infamous boys would be the understatement of the century. To say she would give her magic and her knowledge of its existence away for them to go away too would be...a tad exaggerated.

The three of them were near the Black Lake, behind some shady trees. No one could see or hear them, but they were technically still on the school grounds. Unless Black moved his foot by about an inch.

Potter had stolen her prized possession: her copy of _The_ _Untrustful_ _Mage_. It was given to her by Severus, which was the exact reason why he had taken it, with the help of his loyal best friend.

Potter is dangling the book over her head in a taunting manner. Reaching for it, Lily tries and fails once more to secure her book. Instead, she secures a trip to the hospital wing, to get a scratch treated.

Cradling her arm from the wound given to her by a sharp branch, she yells at her nemesis,

"Why are you such a bully?"

"Bully? Why don't you tell that to your boyfriend, Snivellus? Oh right, because he's 'an angel compared to us!'"

Lily wants to cry. Why is she the one stuck with James Potter torturing her, simply because she helped a boy in need and befriended him? Thinking about it, something breaks in her, and she collapses.

Not a single tear escapes her.

That is the worst part.

Her body is trembling as if she is experiencing the Cruciatus Curse, but Lily feels no pain. All she feels was the roughness of the ground and the spiked branch of the tree she is leaning on.

The hate for the boys standing in front of her, especially that Potter overwhelms her, but she knows it is only his fault.

His fault for picking on her and her best friend.

His fault for assuming everyone liked his torture, which he called a prank.

His fault for not minding his own business.

But mostly, his fault for what she was about to do.

Shaking off her moment of weakness, Lily gets up abruptly, to an identical raised eyebrow from the two boys. Raising both of her own, she lifts her right hand and slaps James Potter.

A shocked yelp escapes his throat, and a gasp came from Black's.

But Lily is satisfied.

"And to think I felt sorry for you!"

Potter's indignant cry makes no difference to Lily, as what he did to Severus made no difference to him.

Lily feels a strange emotion in her core as she watches two retreating figures. Is it satisfaction, or guilt, or emptiness; maybe it is all of them? Nevertheless, she didn't regret it as she went strutting back to the castle, inside her common room, and to the safety of her dorm.

Lily writes about the incident in her notebook, as she always does when something interesting happens, and packs it away on top of the other dozen notebooks that had been used in the past.

* * *

As the two enemies-Lily and James-fight, a weird aura surrounds them. Not like the mythical ones that muggles enjoy reading about; those were stupid. More like a magical signature, but a strong one.

To an expert, the auras would seem a silvery pink, but one can't be sure. The aura is made of wisps of magic, powerful magic. it winds around the girl and boy in a kind of figure eight. Similar to a soul bond, or an unbreakable vow, yet much, much different.

To the few who can see it, it will just seem like accidental magic from the heated argument, but not to one specific set of grey eyes. To her, it will bring back a set of memories, that once scared her many years ago. But they will now make sense.

And as James Potter and Lily Evans storm away from each other, Rhea knows, that these two are the ones


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A prank. Or is it?~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I don't own Harry Potter.
> 
> ~Written by Legacy of Hecate

It was simple, really.

Rhea did not think that binding two very capable wizards would be so easy. All she had to do was cast a simple spell (Incarcerous) to bind their arms together. It was quite funny, actually, to watch as the two lifted their arms to continue eating their breakfast, only to realize they couldn't.

Lily had immediately started to accuse James, but when he seemed just as confused as Lily, she had rounded on Sirius. Sirius, barely smothering his laughter, denied being associated with 'this brilliant masterpiece of a prank' as he so eloquently put it.

Rhea knows how cliche it is to bind their arms together, but she doesn't care. It's for the sake of the world **,** after all, and cliches do not make it in the grand scheme of the universe. So, she's going to swallow the sinking feeling in her stomach, and power through.

She has to; it's the only way to save the world.

* * *

Lily is not having a good day. She had fallen asleep while studying for a very important test in Transfiguration the night before and awoke to an awful feeling in her chest. The terrible feeling continued to settle in her chest even as she got ready and headed down to eat breakfast.

The day continued to get worse as someone spilled their drink on her shirt: they didn't even apologize! And lastly, someone had, completely disregarding the rules of no wand usage in the halls, used a binding spell on her on Potter.

Naturally, she had thought it was his fault. Potter seemed to have a lot of enemies, enemies who wanted to get revenge. But when she turned to reprimand him, she was shocked to see his face clearly displaying confusion. So, she turned towards the next culprit.

Black.

Black had the audacity to laugh at their predicament. Lily, blinded by her anger, turned to him.

"Did you do this?" She sneers.

Black, finally getting a hold of his laughter, gave her a small, reassuring smile. "No I, sadly, was not a part of this brilliant masterpiece of a prank."

That was not reassuring in the slightest. The whole school knew that Potter and Black were the pranksters of Hogwarts. Everyone figured that out when Peeves had claimed them as his personal students (he had said students, but the unspoken 'children' in place of 'students' was enough to make a few people faint from fearful anxiety). After that, most people avoided anywhere that those three would be at. Black and Potter's friend, Remus, is thankfully not a part of their schemes, and for that Lily couldn't be more grateful that he's there to calmly get them out of the situations they get themselves into. That and the fact that Remus' pranks would never fail and the world would be in ruins.

Lily, of course, does not care whether they get in trouble or not, but Remus is kind and intelligent and he knows when to back off and step in when things get out of hand, which she appreciates.

Lily tries to gather her nonexistent patience. "Do you know anyone who would do this?"

Potter looks thoughtful for a second, grabbing his fork and shoveling two pancakes into his mouth making Lily's arm go forward. Lily makes a disgusted face at that. "No," Potter says after a few seconds. "I dunno. I don't really know many people outside of Sirius, Remus, and Peter."

"You are no help," Lily hisses, grabbing her arm back. Potter, surprised, drops his syrup onto his eggs.

"Oh come on!" He wails. "I was gonna eat that."

Lily stands up abruptly causing Potter to scramble to get up without tripping and making a fool of himself. Lily presses her mouth into a thin line, remembering that she needs to be patient. "We're going to figure out how to reverse this."

"Don't you know a counterspell?" Potter asks, walking beside Lily after an abrupt fall when they entered the hallway. "I thought you were Little Miss Perfect."

Lily resists the urge to roll her eyes, but can't stop the annoyed sigh that escaped her lips. "The counterspell is easy, of course, I know it. You should, too." Potter had the decency to look embarrassed, if only slightly. Lily huffs. "Besides, as I said before, spell usage outside of class is strictly prohibited unless it's an emergency."

Potter looks at her, incredulous."This is an emergency." He holds his wrist, and Lily's, up and shakes it to emphasize his point.

This time, Lily does roll her eyes. "To you. Yes, I think it's...annoying, but an emergency? No."

Potter sighs, letting his and Lily's wrist go. "Where are we going, anyway?"

Lily looks at his paling face as they stop at one of the many doors in the hallways. She suppresses a grin, and says, "Why, Professor McGonagall, of course."

Lily wishes she had a camera to take a picture of Potter's face.

She's going to enjoy this.

* * *

"What did you do this time, Mr. Potter?" Professor McGonagall says warily, eyeing the two with a somewhat exhausted expression. She seemed to have expected something to happen as she was standing in front of her desk, not sitting.

"Why do you automatically assume I did something?!"

McGonagall sighs, ignores him, and turns to Lily. "Ms. Evans, I assume something happened?"

Lily nods. "Yeah. We, uh, kind of have a situation." Lily holds up her arm, the same arm that got hit with the Inscernous spell, and Potter's arm goes up as well.

McGonagall looks at them for a good ten seconds (enough time to make Lily uncomfortable; she doesn't like being stared down by a teacher, or anyone) before she heaved a great sigh and sat down at her desk, inviting them to take a seat as well. "Have a biscuit."

Lily grabs a biscuit, muttering a quick thank you, and takes the available seats opposite of McGonagall. Potter, however, just sits down, not even reaching for the biscuits. Something tells Lily that he's been here more than once, but she already knew that, so she ignored the voice.

McGonagall folds her hands together and watches them. Lily, even more uncomfortable, blurts out, "Can I use the counterspell?"

"Ms. Evans," McGonagall begins, "normally, I would allow you to use the counterspell, even if it's out of class. You do not have to ask next time."

Lily nods quickly, sensing the familiar feeling of embarrassment creep up to her. She's ready to high tail it out of there and vent out her feelings in the library, but McGonagall is not finished.

"That being said, I cannot allow you to use the counterspell to get you and Mr. Potter here out of this...strange predicament."

Lily's mouth falls open, and so does Potter's. "W-What?" Lily stutters. "W-What do you mean?"

McGonagall presses her mouth into a thin line, so thin that Lily would almost be impressed if she wasn't incredibly confused and exhausted at this whole situation. "Perhaps I didn't specify it too well, hm?" McGonagall says. "Well, let me rephrase it: I forbid you to use that counterspell to release you from those binds. Was that clear enough?"

"Clear as day, Professor," Potter says before Lily can. "But maybe, just maybe, you can explain further?"

Lily, once again, suppresses the urge to glare and roll her eyes at him. McGonagall sighs, and pours them tea. Lily grabs the teacup in a daze and tries to focus as McGonagall speaks.

"I apologize for the inconvenience," McGonagall starts, not sounding sorry. "Professor Dumbledore is enacting an...experiment, you could say. Unfortunately, you two have been deemed necessary to the experiment by the headmaster himself. Do not worry, you will be rewarded in the end. You have my word." McGonagall sighed again. "Now, there are a few things that I need to tell you two important facts about this experiment. One: the spell will last for exactly twelve hours. Two: the spell will break during lunch and your last class for three minutes and thirty-four seconds to let you go to the restroom."

Lily takes a gulp of air at the information. "So, if I were to, hypothetically, of course, perform the counterspell, would you..?"

"Stop you?" McGonagall finishes, her thin lips tipped up at the edges. "No, Ms. Evans, I would not stop you. However, that spell was cast by a very powerful witch, a mere counterspell taught to young children would not break the spell. I would also encourage you to not even try to attempt to break the seal. I am certain that the witch who cast the spell did some sort of bond to prevent escape. I am doubtful that she would cause fatal injuries or any harm, but I cannot say for certain. Now, you two best be off to class. Professor Dumbledore has already informed your teachers of your predicament ."

The next thing Lily knew, she was being pushed out of McGonagall's classroom into the hallway right as the bell rang for class.

* * *

James, contrary to popular belief, is not as big of a jerk that everyone thinks he is.

Sure, he isn't always the nicest person, but nobody can be perfect all of the time. Not even Remus, and he sure as hell tries. So does Lily Evans.

Of course, because James is such a great person, he let her drag him to McGonagall's office. He watched her as she panicked since the bell had rung (only after a minute of her panicking, James had enough and told her they wouldn't get in trouble as McGonagall would vouch for them). He even let her drag him again to class, even though he was planning on skipping. See? He isn't that bad of a person. Oh, and now he was letting her do everything with him in literally every subject (even though he can't technically get out of it since they are stuck together for the next twelve hours).

First-class: Charms.

James isn't too upset about that; Flitwick is a great professor, but how is he supposed to cast spells if he can't use his right arm? Evans, of course, seemed to be ambidextrous so she has no trouble adjusting. Long story short, James definitely failed that class.

Second class wasn't difficult at all; Evans was, unsurprisingly, incredible at Care of Magical Creatures. She taught him all about the Niffler, excitedly pointing out all its features and telling him 'interesting' facts (personally, James didn't think the Niffler was all that impressive, it didn't really do anything). James doesn't know if her telling him facts was intentional or not, but he didn't mind.

Wow. He didn't mind. He just shocked himself.

Transfiguration was their third class and the moment they walked in, McGonagall gave them a tired look before promptly ignoring them the rest of class. Yes, that meant she ignored Evans' hand that shot into the air every time the poor professor asked a question. Which then led to Evans complaining to James the entire lunch shift. James was so done by the last class.

Unfortunately, the last class of the day was potions.

Great. Just great. James was going to get laughed at, teased, and probably a less than happy grade (a grade that would make his dad scream for Merlin). He's ninety percent sure Slughorn does not like him that much, but Evans is attached to him (literally) so maybe Slughorn'll cut him some slack. Hopefully.

* * *

It did not happen that way.

James walked into the Potions classroom, Evans' arm attached to his, unable to move. They sat at a desk in the back and Evans opened her potions book and prepped their cauldron. As Slughorn walked in, James swore that the professor glared at him before turning to the board.

"Alright, everyone, seats please!" Slughorn called, tone cheerful but it didn't fool James. "Today, you'll be making the Shrinking Solution! The instructions are on the board and in your books. To see the instructions in your book, turn to page 403, and the recipe is located approximately an inch after the first paragraph. You can't miss it!"

James tunes Slughorn out after that; his partner is Lily Evans, of course, he's going to pass. Besides, when is he ever going to need to brew Shrinking Solution?

Evans, however, is content to not do all the work (the audacity), and forces James to do at least a few things. Like, read off the recipe, for example.

"You want me to do what?"

Evans, obviously close to losing her patience, responds with a very annoyed tone. "Read the instructions to me. I can't possibly dumb it down any further for you."

James just didn't have it in him to argue with her and decided the best course of action was to listen to her. He read off the instructions:

Boil water.

_Add five sliced caterpillars._

_Heat till the potion turns red._

_Shake the peeled Shrivelfig until it is ready (this is extra important as if one tries to add it before it is ready the potion may emit noxious green gases)._

_Add peeled Shrivelfig_ one by one until _the potion turns yellow._

Heat potion until it turns turquoise, and then purple.

_Add four rat spleens to the cauldron._

_Add minced daisy roots_ until _it turns green._

_Add five drops of leech juice._

_Add more of the Shrivelfig, this time_ until _it turns pink._

_Add one sliced caterpillar._

_Heat mixture until it turns green._

He read it off quickly, but Evans still got everything prepared and ready to go. James was, though he would never admit, slightly impressed with her skills. By the end of class, their potion was looking green, which was a good thing, as Evans had assured James when he saw the color and freaked out.

Slughorn went around the room, checking potions, correcting mistakes, and giving grades all with a cheery smile. Evans had excused herself to go to the restroom, so James was all alone when Slughorn came. Everyone was allowed to leave as soon as their potion was checked, and since James was in the back, he was the last person in the room. James mentally cursed Evans for leaving him alone, then he cursed himself for thinking like that. He can do this. He can do this. He can do this…

"Well, hello, Mr. Potter," Slughorn says, still cheerful but with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes that James did not like one bit. He can do this. He can do this. "Let's check your potion, shall we? Perhaps you'd like to taste test it out yourself?"

He can't do this.

"Uh, uh.." was James' intelligent reply.

Slughorn smiled evilly at him, mischievous twinkle and all, and it made James' stomach churn so much that he wished he'd just stayed in bed that day."Go ahead, Mr. Potter. This is your potion, is it not? You should be confident in your abilities, or else you'll never be able to reach your dreams. Ten points from Gryffindor for that hesitation. Would you like to make that twenty points?"

James leaned over the green potion and grabbed the ladle, hovering it over the cauldron. He looked up and saw Slughorn's smug smile, and again, wished he could've stayed in bed. James gulped and filled the ladle with a bit of the potion. His lips barely touched the wooden ladle before the door burst open, revealing an outraged Lily Evans.

James had never been so happy to see an angry girl before now.

"Professor Slughorn," Evans says slowly as she stomped towards them, her arm attaching back to James, "just what _are_ you doing?!"

Slughorn's face pales drastically and he hastily tries to fix this. "Ms. Evans, I must apologize. I was merely having everyone test their potions to make sure they know what it...tastes like! Yes, what it tastes like!"

"What. It. Tastes. Like?" Lily repeats back to him slowly, staring at him. Slughorn sputters out more excuses before finally excusing himself out of the classroom. Apparently, even teachers can be afraid of Evans. James lets the ladle fall back into the cauldron and briefly considers giving Evans a hug.

"Thank you so much," James says as Evans turned back to him. "You have no idea how much suffering you have just saved me from, Evans."

Evans looks at him. She looks at him even as he gathers his stuff together. She looks at him even as they walk towards the Gryffindor dorms. She still stared at him as the bind surrounding their arms unraveled, finally falling back to their sides. She only stopped when he was a few feet up the stairs of the boys' dorms stairs.

And, in place of her staring, she said, "Call me Lily, please."

This time, James was the one staring as she walked in through the girls' dorm door. And if he just so happened to be staring at breakfast and throughout the next day, it didn't matter.

Especially because Lily stared right back at him.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A prank gone wrong~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by BookwormCM18. You're crazy if you think I own Harry Potter.

It was harmless, really. No one actually got hurt. But when James Potter voiced these thoughts, he was immediately silenced with a sharp look from Professor Minerva McGonagall. Sentenced to detention with Professor Binns, all he can do is sit in silence until it is time for his punishment.

* * *

"Is everything ready?"

Out of all the Marauders, Moony is the most nervous, which is a change, because Wormtail usually does all of the worrying. But today's prank is one that has been prepared for since September, and it's mid-March.

The prank will go off at noon sharp; everything had been set up the previous night. It was supposed to turn every single solid wall into a material similar to glass.

Picture it: Hogwarts, made of glass. Every turn you take, you will see exactly what is going on inside all the rooms. It is an exciting thought, and they can't wait to make it a reality.

The spell is an easy one, as there is a simple spell to turn stone into glass, and all of the walls and ceilings of Hogwarts are made out of old stone. Moony had created some sort of bomb, then rigged it to go off at a specific time, which would set the spell free. For that, Padfoot had snuck into Hogsmeade and procured a 'Magic Box' from Zonko's.

_Need a place to store magic so you can prank your friends without any effort? Check out our new product, the Magic Box! (Description below.)_

The item may seem really useful and handy for self-protection, or something, but, as it turns out before Zonko's could create the merchandise, they had to make a deal with the Ministry of Magic and get some sort of patent; it was all really confusing.

All the Marauders know is that the item can only be used for a prank, and there are procedures taken at the shop to ensure that. But for this master prank, anything will be done. So they waited and waited and waited, for months on end, until they finally got the box.

Everything was set up perfectly, and all the loopholes are ruled out. Now all they had to do is wait for noon, and months of planning will finally get rewarded.

It worked! That is until it stopped working.

Three hours of glorious triumph until McGonagall finally found proof that the Marauders had something to do with it.

Prongs is taking a stroll through a corridor, and once he knows he is alone, he kneels and takes out the notebook the Marauders had been using to plan this prank. Just to double-check the limitations of the spell and all that nerdy stuff Moony told him to do. But he should have known.

For once, one of the Marauders' pranks has backfired on them, because through the now glass wall blocking the corridor, a specific Lily Evans stalks up to James and asks him what he was doing.

"What do you mean, 'What am I doing? I can do whatever I want!"

"Yes, you can, unless you're doing it in the most secluded corridor in Hogwarts!"

"It's just a random place I decided to sit down! Anyway, how do you even know what the most secluded place in Hogwarts is? Did your Death-Eater boyfriend show you?"

Before Lily could retort, a curt voice from behind them speaks

"What is going on here?"

* * *

When Minerva McGonagall asks this question, she doesn't expect what she gets. Especially from Lily.

Two voices simultaneously argue over each other.

"Well you see, Potter was-"

"Evans here decided that-"

"Enough! You both are fourth years, not to consider that you are also teenagers who have matured enough to not bicker every time you meet!" Under her breath, Minerva muttered to herself, "I had thought that Rhea would have made her mark by now. Seriously, she said the binding spell worked! I suppose I'll have to take matters into my own hands."

"I couldn't hear you properly, Professor."

Lily talks in her 'Star Student' voice, the one that turns her into a Goody Two-Shoes, as others say. But she only wants to make sure she doesn't miss anything important.

"Never mind that. And what's that you're holding, Potter?"

She had looked for something to get them both in trouble for and she had found it in the hands of James Potter.

"Oh, this? It's just a diary."

But the nervous tone in his voice gives him away. Either his heart isn't in lying, or he is just terrible at it.

"Hand it over."

When Potter doesn't, Minerva simply takes it, which isn't hard, with a small wandless _Accio_ , which makes her appear as if she is stronger than James Potter, Gryffindor's Quidditch Captain, and Chaser.

As she scrolls through the journal, which she now knows is the cause of the terrible spell that had been performed on the castle, Minerva has to admit, the four boys can be smart, even the small boy, Pettigrew. If only they use their skills for good reason, not pranks.

"Ms. Evans and Mr. Potter, detention tonight, for doing this horrific 'prank', as you call it."

"I had nothing to do with this, Professor! You have to believe me!"

Lily is on the verge of tears. This must be the first detention she has ever gotten.

Minerva is well aware that Lily has nothing to do with it, as her own remark had many loopholes. One only needs to look at the journal briefly to notice that Lily's name is not mentioned, but no one has to know that. And she knows that Potter won't care to bring attention to that fact, what with their enmity going on, why will he clear her name?

"I'm sorry, Ms. Evans, but I am not a biased teacher. I rule on facts, not opinions of trust."

Minerva is very proud of herself for that line; it was very poetic. But then she remembers that Evans doesn't actually deserve to be punished, and she ought to keep some amount of justice.

"Potter, you get a week of detention, not counting today."

"But-but _why_!" he whines.

"I think you know why."

The truth was, even she doesn't know why. Well, she does. Rhea Esmeray has brought nothing but trouble, that is for sure.

"Well, why doesn't Sirius get detention too?"

Minerva has no idea. She should probably find a way to give all four of the Marauders detention at one point. Whenever they next got detention, it would be extra long. Confused out of her mind, she walks away, leaving a flabbergasted Lily Evans and an indignant James Potter.

* * *

And that's Prongs' story.

Why he isn't treated to justice, and why he was stuck with detention with the two worst people: Evans and Binns. His stomach feels queasy at the thought of the boring detention that will most likely drive him crazy. The worst part was that until the detention started, he was stuck in a stiff wooden chair in McGonagall's office on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Luckily for him, McGonagall is not in the room, so he is free to do whatever he could do while stuck to a chair (literally).

So when McGonagall arrives to unstick him for his detention, she finds him reaching for his wand, which she had intelligently kept on her highest shelf. However, the strangest part is that he had created a staircase with her office supplies and is trying to climb it with a chair attached to his back.

"Ehem."

Jumping in shock, James tumbles down, landing on the floor with a final _thump_.

"Are you ready for your detention Mr. Potter?"

"...no?"

* * *

As it turns out, he didn't have a choice. So why had McGonagall asked him? It was very annoying how teachers say whatever they want and don't actually mean it.

Evans is, of course, early. Or _Lily_ , as she 'preferred'. Honestly, the whole fiasco a few days ago feels like a dream. Or a prank. He wouldn't put it past Sirius to attach them together and lie about it.

Binns is writing about goblin revolutions or something on the chalkboard when James walked in. He didn't stop when he pointed to a table with two large scrolls that were lying side by side, bundled up and tied with ribbons.

Lily and James both compared their respective scrolls, which have their names on them, and found that the jobs that they have to do together were on top, and the separate chores were on the bottom.

_Lily Evans_

_Organize teaching schedules_

_Sort textbooks by year, house, and class_

_Write an essay on the 100 uses of hippogriff toenails_

_Dust chalkboard erasers_

_Write a speech on why you deserve this detention_

_James_ _Potter_

_Organize teaching schedules_

_Sort textbooks by year, house, and class_

_Write an essay on why it is good to study (4 feet)_

_Organize chalk by size_

_Comb your hair until it is untangled_

The lists are infuriating to James and Lily, particularly the last ones. Whoever wrote these lists -definitely not Binns- knew all the ways to get under their skins, which made it all the more terrible.

With nothing else to do but be angry in silence, the two began.

* * *

It was little after four when Lily and James completed everything on their lists. Even though they despise each other, their mutual hate for whoever gave them the horrible tasks had brought them to work together, helping each other finish.

To explain it would be to say that each other's weaknesses were the other's strengths, and that helped them considerably. So when the duo pranced out of the History of Magic class, to Binns's chagrin, because he couldn't give them any more chores, a shadow that lurked in the corner smirked in delight.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
